Linux

There are many different directions for installing these two software packages and many of them do not work without modification on Ubuntu or install old versions that are broken. To install OpenCV use Jay Rambhia’s install script. And to install SimpleCV, follow the directions on the SimpleCV GitHub page.

The easiest way to get started is to install Apache and PHP: $ sudo apt-get install apache2 php5 php-pear If you need to edit the Apache ports because you already have another server running on port 80 then edit /etc/apache2/ports.conf. You’ll need to install the PHP Mongo connector: sudo pecl install php_mongo Add “extension=mongo.so” to Read More

Due to licensing restrictions, Ubuntu no longer comes with Oracle’s Java JDK. The first trick to installing on a headless server is being able to wget the file. I recommend downloading manually and then placing in on a host you control, your Dropbox directory, etc. You can install it by running: sudo mkdir -p /opt/java/64 Read More

I had to figure out a few things to get Ubuntu installed and working well on VirtualBox. I had to enable virtualization technologies in my BIOS. I have a Lenovo T520 and did this by pressing F1 during startup and then going to Security > Virtualization. If I did not do this then I would Read More

The Linux sed command is a stream editor. What that means is basically that you can do a regex operation on each line of a file or a piped stream. You can also use perl like sed. Sed does not use the extended regex syntax. Sed regex reminders: You need a backslash before parens in Read More

Automatic updates If you’re using Ubuntu you can do this by editing /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades. Running out of date packages with security holes is a good way to get your machine pwnd. Remove unused software Every piece of software installed on your system provides one more attack point for malicious users. You should inventory your system and remove Read More

I just got a laptop loaded with Lucid Lynx and have had a bit of a mixed experience adjusting. I’ve actually used Ubuntu a bit in the past, but only minimally and never as my primary computer until now. First reactions I like the default background. Have the fonts improved? Fonts have always looked bad Read More

Resume button disabled I was unable to resume my NX session. While trying to connect, the resume button was greyed out (or grayed out) This apparently can happen if the two machines are running at a different color depth. The machine I was trying to connect to was running Ubuntu, so I checked the color Read More

openSUSE is my favorite Linux distribution. Linux in general has some usability frustrations as a desktop user, so I hope to share some of the ways they can be dealt with. If you have questions of your own leave a comment. Fix horrible bug that breaks buttons GDK has a horrible debilitating bug that was Read More